Novatek CEO: The resource base for Arctic LNG-2 is estimated at 30 bcm

The Salmanovskoye (Utrenneye) field, which will serve as the resource base for the Arctic LNG-2 project, can supply more than 30 billion cubic meters of gas (bcm) a year, TASS reports, citing Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson.

"We have all but finished a development plan for Utrenneye and have estimated its annual plateau production capacity at some 30 bcm, which is enough to make this project profitable. In other words, we can plan for three production lines, just as at Yamal LNG, each of them producing some 6 mcm [a year]," Mikhelson said.

The Novatek CEO added that each liquefaction line would be installed on a separate ice-resistant platform a short distance from the shore. Gas will be delivered from a field that is located between 40 and 60 kilometers from the platform. Condensate will be extracted at the gas preparation stage. Finished products — condensate and LNG — will be stored on the platforms for subsequent delivery to clients.

"We believe that we have identified the site where the platforms could be set up. We will conduct the remaining 20 percent of exploration work in August and September. The site is very good," Mikhelson said.

Arctic LNG-2 is Novatek's second Arctic project in addition to Yamal LNG, under which Novatek will build a gas liquefaction plant on the Gydan Peninsula that will receive natural gas from the Utrenneye gas condensate field. The company plans to adopt an investment decision regarding this project in 2019 and to complete the construction of the plant by late 2022 or early 2023. The Arctic LNG-2 project has been assessed to be worth around $10 billion.